Nov. 15, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
No. 25 San Diego State-No. 11/12 Gonzaga Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
No. 25 San Diego State Travels to No. 11/12 Gonzaga for Nationally Televised O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Contest
In one of the most anticipated early season match-ups of the season, No. 25 San Diego State (1-0) travels to 11th/12th-ranked Gonzaga (2-0) to open the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. The contest between the two nationally ranked ballclubs is set for Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The game, which will be televised live on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham on the call, is a part of ESPN's third annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The non-conference tilt can also be heard in Southern California on AM 600 KOGO with Ted Leitner providing the description.
The Aztecs remained at No. 25 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll, released Monday morning, after beating Long Beach State on the road, 81-65, on Saturday. SDSU was led by sophomore forward Kawhi Leonard, who had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds to record his 18th career double in just 35 career games. All 12 rebounds came in the second half and he nearly outrebounded the 49ers, who had 16 boards in the final 20 minutes, by himself. For his efforts, the preseason Wooden Award Top-50 candidate earned his fourth career Mountain West Conference player-of-the-week honor on Monday.
In addition to Leonard, senior guard D.J. Gay had a terrific afternoon at LBSU as he finished with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 4-for-5 performance from three-point distance. Backcourt teammate and Santa Clara transfer, James Rahon, also had an impressive debut as he scored 14 points off the bench and played a critical part in the Aztecs pulling away from the 49ers. With San Diego State ahead by one point with nine minutes to play, Rahon connected on a trio of three-pointers on consecutive possessions to open up a 10-point lead and the Aztecs never looked back.
San Diego State enters CBE Classic action looking to improve to 2-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season and is the midst of a season-opening five-game road/neutral trip. Dating back to last season, SDSU has won three straight true road games and four of its last five for 12th-year head coach Steve Fisher. The national championship head coach enters the game one win shy of reaching 200 for his Aztec career. What Fisher has done is nothing short of remarkable as he inherited a team back in 1999-2000 that won just four games the year before and five games in `99-00, while finishing 0-14 in the Mountain West Conference.
The No. 11/12 Bulldogs come into the game with a perfect 2-0 record after defeating Southern, 117-72 on Friday and SDSU opponent, IUPUI, 86-56, on Sunday. Gonzaga ranks 12th in the NCAA in scoring (101.5 points), and is led by Steven Gray, who comes into the contest with averages of 21.0 points and 7.5 rebounds. He is one of five Bulldogs averaging double figures in scoring (Sam Dower - 15.0, Kelly Olynyk - 11.5, Mathis Moenninghoff - 11.0, Robert Sacre - 11.0).